17th ave SW or Notre Dame Ave?
 

I posted a poll on twitter for this and figured, might as well post one here too. This is better anyhow....it's hard to debate or discuss on Twitter.

So which is it? Is 17th ave good as it is, or could it be better using the original street name of Notre Dame Ave? Maybe another name altogether?

I think the questions you are asking is: "Should we rename 17th ave SW to its original name, Notre Dame Ave?"

When was it called Notre Dame Avenue?

I find it pretty forced when people use street names that were changed decades ago. I do prefer named streets to numbers, but unless the city makes some sweeping changes, I'll call 17th ave 17th, 1st St SW, 1st St SW etc.

I don't it would be a good idea simply because most of the locals would really botch the name. I do think a name change to something different makes sense - maybe the city should put out a poll with various options to choose from.

Check out these old maps: http://forum.skyscraperpage.com/showthread.php?t=191375

http://www.urbanphoto.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/calgarystreetnames.gif You'll have to zoom into the hi-res image to see the names.

Interesting that only part of it is Notre Dame. Was their a church at one point called that there? What is the history of the name?

I think it needs to have something cowboyish in the name. Maybe Wagoneer Stampychaps Ave or something. People often forget about how much of a cowboy town we are. We need to remind them.

To be fair, Notre Dame (and likely other names like Stephen) were only in use until 1904. Considering this photo from ~1900

http://ww2.glenbow.org/dbimages/arc3/l/na-1390-2.jpg

shows the Lougheed house 600m away with few houses in between could mean that few Calgarians ever used or identified with the street name.

Outside of downtown I do wonder how many historic street names existed other than as print on a map. Not to say that the intent of using the name is invalid as a choice today.

Perhaps a good research project for 5seconds :)

Lougheed Avenue?

I support a name change to highlight the significance of the street better. Something classy like "Notre Dame" or "loughheed" would work. It's less about the locals and more about the brand.

Sure it would take a generation to get all the locals people to forget, but I think our numbering system aligns with our major problem of being a city designed for engineers and not one designed for people. Any moves to give Calgary a bit more personality is a good thing.

And though I support a new / old name, I will be one of those that will call it 17th. Too old to switch now for me ;)

'Notre Dame' or any name for that matter is an improvement. People always complain that tourists don't leave the CBD, and don't know about the Beltline. It's because a name like '17th ave' doesn't stand out at all to tourists only locals.

Notre Dame is an awful name. 17th is fine for street name. Well, not really a fan of the quadrants that bisect downtown . Just get those hotels directing tourists to the Red Mile. A community/neighbourhood/district name is more enticing than just a street.

Why? I have no idea what community/neighbourhood/district Queen Street west, King Street, Yonge/Dundas, Bloor are in but I know those are some of the streets to go to.

Exactly. Same goes for just about any well known street in other cities. I've been to streets like Rush Street in Chicago or South Street in Philly. I have no idea what neighborhoods they are in. Some streets also cross more than one neighborhood.

That's how I interpreted it, as per his post

I'll give you Queen Street West but, Yonge & Dundas is an intersection and King Street or Bloor mean nothing. Where on Bloor? The Annex? Koreatown?

King Street West is the entertainment district in Toronto. It is full of restaurants, lounges and nightclubs. Bloor is known for high end shopping, Armani, Dolce & Gabbana, Prada, Holt Renfrew, etc. It's Canada most expensive retail area. Both areas are very prominent for visitors.

Not true, it depends case by case. In some cases the street is more known than the neighborhood, and in other cases it's the neighborhood.

How about Connaught Avenue, since that adjacent community name has faded away mostly

Connaught High Street